Ghost of the past (stopped)
by HatoriFangirl
Summary: -no longer being written- Seiran finds something, or rather, someone he never thought he'd see again in Sa province. Seiran x OC. Haven't finished the series yet, so forgive me for not following the storyline
1. Chapter 1

It had been quite some time since he'd been in Sa province, and his memories of the town weren't all that pleasant. He and Ensei had hunted down a good majority of those who knew his secret, and had dispatched them, in one way or another. There was one person, however, he could not kill, for they had been dead for many years.

Or so he thought.

The first day of Shuurei and Eigetsu's appointment had them very busy in the capital of the province, along with Ensei and the others. With the Sa family in prison, save for the new head of the family and his future wife, and the many guards around the capital building, Seiran felt it would be safe to leave for a little while, to attend a personal errand.

His quiet steps led him through a forest and down a long, hardly-trodden path, ending in a small graveyard. He had brought no flowers or incense, but knelt in front of the gravestone anyway, brushing away the dirt and miscellaneous debris on it's face. His brows furrowed sternly as he read the stone and bowed his head. The wetness on his cheek startled him… he hadn't expected to cry, not after all these years.

"My lady… my love." He whispered softly, once again bowing his head as he silently let the tears fall. He never would have suspected that there would be another tear-filled set of eyes watching him from a distance.

A flock of birds was startled from a faraway tree, causing Seiran to jump up and look around. His blade was drawn, and his eyes were cold as he surveyed the area. When no one came forth, he walked in the direction of where the birds had flown from and looked around. One small set of footprints and a crushed sakura blossom greeted his vision. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked around once more, then followed the footprints.

It wasn't long before he lost the path in a stream, but when he looked around him, he recognized the stream all too well and followed it for a couple of miles, before crossing and heading up a steep mountain/cliffside path and into a cave. His steps were sure as he trod into the darkness, counting his steps as he'd done in the past. At exactly step number fifty-two, he turned exactly at a ninety degree angle and kept walking, once more counting his steps. The dark path began to incline upwards and eventually began to brighten. At step 70, he was standing at the exit of the path, in a carved-out mountain basin, hidden from above by enormous trees that still let in enough light to illuminate the area. He looked down and saw footprints in front of him, much as he'd expected, but baffling, to say the least. When he glanced up, he recognized the ornate buildings around the courtyard, the beautiful pond covered in floating sakura blossoms, and the large sakura tree planted on an island in the middle of it all.

Seiran walked slowly up to the tree, resting his hand on the trunk. "What love you brought me, they took away… now only my imagination is capable of bringing her back to me."

"S… Seien?" A broken voice meekly called out. He quickly turned and looked around the courtyard, his eyes resting on a lone woman, clad in a pale violet dress, her hair tied up in a single ponytail, streaming down from a bun, held in place by an ornate hairpin, fashioned in the shape of a bouquet of sakura blossoms. One hand was over her heart, the other over her mouth, and her eyes were full of tears. His eyes, on the other hand were as wide as possible as he simply stared at her like he'd seen a ghost.

"Ellura…" He whispered softly. He took a step closer to her, and then another, afraid he'd fallen asleep at his post, and this was all a dream… or maybe she really was a ghost, and if he got too close, she'd disappear. When she neither moved nor faded, he came to stand roughly 5 feet in front of her, his gaze no longer wide, but heartbroken. "Is this a dream, or are you merely a ghost in front of me?"

"Seien…" she cried softly, closing her eyes tightly against the tears. In a single moment, he was with her, his arms tight around her as she cried quietly in his embrace. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his chest. He rested his cheek on top of her head, letting one hand drift up to stroke the back of her neck comfortingly. Her sobs eventually subsided and she looked up at him, her cheeks still wet with tears as she looked at him with the same heartbroken expression as he'd given her. "I've dreamed… for 10 years, I've dreamed of someday meeting you again… my sweet love, Seien…" she whispered softly.

"I visited your grave, I watched them bury you! How is it that I am now holding you again, as I've wished to do for so long?" He asked in disbelief.

She shook her head and stepped back from him, her expression pained. He only stepped forward again, grasping her hands in his, a pleading look in his eyes. "Please, Ellura… tell me that this is real."

She looked on the verge of tears again, but nodded. "This is no dream. I have been alive, here, ever since that day."

"Then please tell me what's going on. I don't understand this at all! You were dead… I saw you laying there… then at your funeral, I watched your casket go into the ground. How are you alive?"

"I… I cannot tell you now. Please, leave this place and me behind, and never search for me again! I cannot bear to lose you again, Seien. One lifetime of heartache is already far too much for me to bear. If you leave now, maybe I can convince myself it was just a dream."

"But I could not. Ellura, please, don't make me lose you again, either. You always shared everything with me, why can you not do so now?"

She looked up at him, her mouth parted as if to cry out "that's not fair" but she remained silent and ducked her head.

"If you pursue this path any further, I cannot promise you a lack of pain at the end. The truth of the matter will hurt, and cause you grief. It may anger you, and I cannot let you once again ruin your life because of me."

His eyes widened, but his brows furrowed. He looked up as he noticed the sun setting over the mountain. "If what you say is true, that this is real… then please don't send me away again. The greatest pain of all would be losing you twice in a lifetime, and I could not bear it."

She looked up at him again, her gaze wary. "Nor could I."

He held her tight, breathing in the scent of sakuras in her hair. "My love, Ellura… I must go before the sun sets, but I will return again, soon. Promise me you will be here."

She said nothing, but gave a slight nod. He leaned back just enough to look down at her and smiled, for the first time since he'd come to Sa province. "Grant me a parting gift?" he asked, trying to cheer her up.

She gave the smallest of smiles and looked up, her eyes fixed on his. "So long as you grant me the same." She countered, smiling a bit wider at their old exchange, happy that he still remembered it.

He smiled happily, leaning down and closing his eyes as he pressed his lips to hers, unable to suppress the sigh of relief as her warm mouth responded to his. It was a long, slow kiss, as if to make up for more than ten years of being apart. When finally they parted, her eyes were clear and shining, as were his.

"I will return. You have my word."

"And I will be here, you have my word as well."

Seiran… Seien gazed down at this woman he'd long cherished in his heart, and long thought to be gone from this world. He promised himself that nothing would keep him from living his life with her, as he'd long ago promised.

He turned to leave, jogging back towards the trail that led down the mountain, glancing back before entering the tunnel to see her standing beneath the sakura tree, watching him. He took a deep breath and headed back towards his home.


	2. author's note

So I started this story ages ago with a plan in mind, then had to change computers and lost a lot of my writing files. I don't remember quite where this was going, so I haven't written on it since then. If I ever find the file with the outline in it, or remember it myself, I'll go back to writing this.


End file.
